Entrepreneurship Under Pressure: Global Entrepreneuship Monitor 2002: The Netherlands

Abstract

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor(GEM)—designed to be a long-term, multinational project—examines therelationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth. Three key pointsunderpin the GEM research: (a) whether the level of entrepreneurial activityvaries between countries and, if so, to what extent; (b) whether the level ofentrepreneurial activity affects a country's rate of economic growth andprosperity; and (c) what makes a country entrepreneurial. The national teams ineach of the participating countries assemble three sets of data: (1)specially-designed surveys of the adult population in each GEM country; (2)in-depth interviews with experts on entrepreneurship in each country; and (3) awide selection of national economic and demographic data. This GEM report focuses on the Netherlands perspective, investigatingentrepreneurial activity in the country in 2002, in both global and Europeanperspective; the characteristics of the Dutch involved in entrepreneurialactivities; and the overall entrepreneurial climate in the Netherlands.The total entrepreneurship activity rate declined to 29%, lower than theEastern European rate (52%) or that of the ten other EU Member States (37%).Moreover, Dutch entrepreneurial activity compares unfavorably with otherEnglish-speaking countries (including New Zealand, Australia, Canada and theUSA). The Netherlands has a favorable entrepreneurial climate. Among thefindings:two in three persons entrepreneurially active are male, peakingbetween the ages 25 and 35 for men, and 35 to 45 for women.Mostentrepreneurial activities (50%) are in services. The market for informalentrepreneurship is weakly developed by international comparison. At the same time, the experts consulted underlined that negative attitudestoward failure and risk, as well as the insufficient attention toentrepreneurship in the educational system, are some of the major weaknesses ofthe Dutch entrepreneurial environment. Another problem, also signaled in the2001 report, is the limited RD in the long run, improving theattitude toward risk and failure and raising entrepreneurial awareness througheducation will be issues of concern.(CBS)